Tile-placing attachment for ditching machines



July 3l, 1923.

. J. SOMMER lTILE PLACING ATTACHMENT FOR DITCHING MACHINES Filed June 2l 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 LSSSSR July 31, 1923.

J. SOMMER TILE PLACING ATTACHMENT FOR DITCHING MACHINES Filed June 21., 1920- 5 SheetS-Sheet 2 July 31,1923. 1,463,561

' J.` SOMMER l TILE PLACING AVTTACHMENT FOR DITCHING MACHINES Filed June 2l. 1920 3 Shee's--Sheec` 13 pro Patented July 3l, i923@ maar JOHN soMMEaoi" rnonL/i, remmers.

TILE-PLACING- ATTACHMENT FOR BITCHING MACHINES.

Application filed "J une 21,

To @ZZ a/:zom t may cof/acera.'

Be it known that I, JOHN SOMMER, a citizen of the United States; residing' at Peoria, in the county of Peoria and Stateo llinois. have invented new and useful improvements in Tile-Placing `Attachments for Ditching Machines, of which the following is a specification. i

This invention has reference to a tile placing attachment for ditching or excavating machines, which is particularly applicable to wheel. type machines.

(lne ofthe objects oit the present invention to provide tileplaeing attachment tor ditchingy or excavatingr machines -which will facilitate the laying ot thetile -inany soft ground which is subject to cave-infami also in ground containing quicksand; whereby, the tile may be pushed into and held in place and a contiguous joint made with the next adjoining tile, and so held, even in the event of cave-in. i

The invention has for a further object to vide a tile placing' attachment 'for ditch ing machines includingr a means for support-I tile section, and retractable means tor pushing said tile section into contiguous relation and in axial alignment with the preceding laid tile sections and holding the same in such position.

A, `further object of the invention isto provide a tile placing attachment tor ditchor excavating? machines intended for use in muddy ground. as well as ground containin cj ouicksand, and subject to cave-in; suoli attachment comprising a housing connected to and movable with the excavating elements and in the ditch formel thercbv; said lions-- inc' constituting` a movable curbing to retain the walls 'ot the ditch during' the placingpot the tile. and means operable in the said housing' tor pushing; the tile sections intol place.y and tor holding' the in place as the machine moves forward.

further object of the invention is to provide the housing with removable chute thru which gravel may conveyed tocover and surround the tile sections when placed in `eroi-ind containing quicksand; said chute formed with a shield at its lower end to insure a proper distribution ot gravel over and around the tile sections, and thereby protectinp,` the latter against cave-in, duringl the movement ot the machine, and until the gravel.

1920. Serial No. 390,471.

That the invention maybe more fully understood, reference is had to the accompanying drawings torming apart of this description, showing; a preferred embodiment of the invention, in which;

Fig. l is a side elevation orp my improved tile laying attachment the same being` associated with `a ditching machine of the wheel type, only a sufticient'amount of the latter being` shown to show the relation of they tile laying` attachment thereto; Fig. 2 is a view somewhat similar to l. with the exception that the tile laying attachment is shown in vertical section,` and the tile section pushing,r means has been retracted .and tile section placed in position to be pushed against the next contiguous section and .in 'axial' alignment therewith;

Fig. .3, is an end view Alooking in at the lett-hand end of Fig. 1. l y

Fig. 4, is awvertical cross-section'as the same would appear .taken on the line 4;.-4 F l looking in the direction ofl the arrows in said ligure;

F 5, is a detailed cross-section inplan as the same would appear if taken on the line 5 5 Fig. l looking in the direction of the arrows in said vtiefure.

Fig. 6, is a detailed cross-section as the saine would appear it taken on the line 6-6 Finn' 2 looking` in the direction of the arrows in said yligure; and

7; is a detailed cross-section yasthe same would appear it' taken on thelme 7--7 Fini. 9, looking in the direction of vthe arrows in said figure i Like characters et reference denote corresnonflin o parts thruout the' figures.`

Ditchinn or excavating,machines Ot the wheeled type are well known to those skilled in the art. and l therefore. have only shown so much of such a machine yas will be necessary to illnstrate lthe connection ot my tile laying` attachment thereto. The 'digging wheel of such machines is designated by the dotted lines l `provided with the annular toothed rims 2 engage-.fl by driving gear wheels 3, carried a shaft 4, operated in any suitable manner trom the motive power carried by the machine. Thesel machines have a Fig. I

supporting; framework, which in this inor excavating machines,in whichthe drain tile is laid, is in ground where' the danger of a cave-in of the side walls of the ditch is not to be seriously considered, and the tile may be laid by the workmen with little. or no difficulty and without the need of such an attachment as herein shown lfand described. However, ground is often encountered in which the ditches are dup; which is vvery muddy,-for which contains considerable quick-sand. y ln either event the laying of the tile 'during the digging of the' ditches or thereafter, is done with considerable diiiiculty, by reason of the fact, that cave-ins will occur before the tile sections canv be properly laid and placed in juxtapositionI to each other, and incidents are on record, where, during the laying' of the tile sections in such ground, cave-ins have occurred, and the pressure has been so `great upon the tile sections that they were separated axially, the' ground forcing,- the tile sections apart and entering' therebetween, destroying com- Amimicationll between the said tile sections. My attachment aims to overcome the possibility of the cave-in of the walls of the ditches during; the placing of the tile sections, and makes it possible to so place the said sections in juxtaposition to each other rthat'they are retained in place and cave-ins will have n'o material effect thereon to separate the same. Further, when ground is encountered containing quicksa'n'd. my attaclr.

ment provides for the introduction of gravel 'into' the ditch on which the tile sections may be `laid and for coveringand surrounding said tile sections with gravel to protect the same against caving in of the walls of the ditch.

The attachment includes a housing made up of the opposite side walls 8, connected by the curved bottom wall 9 and the rear vertical wall 10, the latter stopping' short at the bottom of the housing as at 11 to provide an opening' in the rear end of thev housing as shown' at the bottom inA Fig'. 2, thru whichis pushed the tile sections A, as will. be'mcre fully explained. rlhe forward ends of the side' walls 8 arranged to have a suitable detachable connection with the "beams 7 foren-ing' a part of the frame work of the machine, whereby the housing' is 'dra-'wn by the machine and thru the ditch cutfby the ditching; wheel 1. 1n other words,

thef housimqtrails the ditching wheel with rvtain the walls of the ditch during the plac- 'ing of theI tile, the tile placing' means being operably carried wlthm the housing, as

l-fwill :be explained.

The tile placing or pushing means coniprises the bar or rod 12 provided with the head 13 at its rear end to which is connected the rearwardly exteifiding` tile rest la; the said bar or rod near its rear end and forward of the head 13 is connected with a cross-frame 15 havingA journaled thereon wheels or rollers 16 movable on rails 17 suitably secured to the curved bottom 9 of the housing, see Figs. 2 and 6. Said bar or rod 12 at its forward end has connected thereto a suitable coupling 18 on which are journaled wheels or rollers 1.9 movable in the substantially channel beam rails 20. Malt-- ino` the rails v2.0 in the form of channel beams, will prevent up or down movement of the wheels or rollers 19, and confines the forward end of the bar or rod 12 in all of its movements.` The rails 20 are connected to the upstanding supports 21, shown in this instance to be angle iron vbeams and at a Asuitable point, see Fig. el, to the saidbeams 5 and 6 of the frame of the machine, see Fig'. 2. The lower ends of thesey supports are connected by the cross piece to the curve bottom 9, see Fig. 7. Secured to the supports 21 at or near the lower ends thereof are the short upright supports 23 in which are ournaled a short cross shaft 24 carrying' the double sheave wheel 25, see Figs. 2 and?.

As a means for reciprocatingr the bar or rod'12, I provide the double shcave wheel. 25, also the fast and loose sheave wheels 26 and 27 respectively carried by the cross shaft 28, `iournaled on the frame work of the machine, the said shaft 28 having' keyed thereon the sprocket wheel 29 driven by a sprocket chain 30 from a sprocket wheel 31 on the shaft 4. 32 denotes a cable passing' over and around the sheave' wheel keyed to the shaft 28 down and around one section of the double sheave wheel 25 and has its end connected to the coupling' 18 secured to the forward end. of the bar or rod The free end of thiscable has a hand-hold 33 connected thereto. 34 denotes a cable passing over the sheave wheel 27 which is loose on the shaft 28 and down and around the other section o-f the sheave wheel 25 and has its end connected to the head 13 on the end of the bar or' rod 12. The free end of this cable has connected thereto the hand-hold 35. rlhe means employed for moving the bar or rod 12 provides for the same to be ymoved rearwardly with the assistance of thesource of power on 'the machine and for manually returning. or moving' the said bar or rod forwardly. lt is understood that the shaft 28 is connected to and operated from the source of power on the machine and the driving' connections may be such that the shaft 28 will be ope "ted. 'both when the machine is standing still, as well as moving. Assuming the shaft 28 to be rotating in the direction indicated .by the arrows in Figs.` l and 2, if theoperator pulls down on the hand-hold 33 the frictional engagement of the cable 32 with the sheave wheel 26 keyed to the shaft 28 will impart'movement to the cable 32 such as will move the'bar or Vrod 12 from its position shown in full lines'in Fig. 2 to the position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 1. To reverse the movement of the bar or rod 12 and return it to the position in full lines in Fig. 2, the operator need only pull on the hand-hold 35 causing the cable 34; to be moved in the ldirection to return the bar or rod 12 to its normal or initial position. It is preferable 'to employthe power of the machine to assist in moving the bar or rod 12 when placing la tile section, and employing a yielding means such as is produced by the cable 32 and the sheave wheel 26, a tile section may be moved and held in juxtaposition to the next contiguous section as the machine is moved forwardly to prevent displacement of the then placed tile section should the walls of the ditch cave in. The tile sections A are successively placed on the tile rest 14: connected with t-he head 13'in the manner shown in Fig. 2. The housing has a suilicient width to permita workman to stand therein to receive and place the tile sections on the rest, in the manner'shown.

The attachment, as now described, is useful when the machine isoperating in muddy ground void of quicksand conditions, but which is subject to cave-in, the side walls 8 of the housing acting as a curbing to retain the side walls of the ditch and permit the placing of the tile sections A on the bottom of the ditch, the said tile sectionsbeing pushed out thru the opening in the rear end of the said housing, as will be understood.

To provide for the laying of the tile sections in ditches whereq-uicksand is encountered, I employ a chute 36 `formed with a hopper 37 at its upper end and with a semi-circular rearwardly 'extending shield 3S at its lower end. This chute is arranged for detachable connection with the rear end wall of the housing, see Figs. l and 3.

To use the chute, it is lled with gravel, represented by the dotted lines in Figs. 1, 2 and 3l which vforms a bed on the bottom of the ditch on which the tile is laid and then completely surrounds the tile, so as to without the housing and has spread withthe gravel 'discharged `from the `chute to spread over and around the newly placed tile section in the manner shown in connection with the last placed tile section in Fig. 2. It is to be understood that the placing of the said tile sections when using' the chute 36 is so timed that a bed of gravel is provided for the said sections, as shown in Fig. 2, so as the machine moves forwardly there can be no tipping of the said tilel sections which would dislodge the same and prevent axial alignment of the next and succeeding tile sections.

What I claim is:- c

1. In a machine of the character described, in combination, power means for digging a ditch, movable means for supporting tile sections, means for utilizing the `power of the digging machine to push the `tile sections into place, and other means for returning said pushing means to tile receiving position. y

2. In a machine of the Vcharacter de-` scribed, in combination, ditchdigging means, an attachment to trail the digging means in the ditch, means within the attachment to support tile 4sections by insertion of such` means within the tile sec-tions, and means to move said support to push the tile sections endwise into place inthe ditch, and into abutting relation with "other sections. y

3. In a machine of the character described, in combination, ditch digging means, an `attachment to traill the digging means in the ditch, the same having an opening thru which are pushed tile sections, means within the attachment to support tile sections by insertion of such means within the tile sections, and kmeans to move said support to push'the tile sections thru [the opening in said attachment and into place in thevditch.

4. In a machine of the character described, in combination, means forv digging" a ditch, means for supporting tile sections, means for pushing thev said tile sections into 'place in the ditch and for retaining the same in position as they are placed, and means by which gravel be introducedinto the ditch to provide a bed for the tile sections and to cover the same. l l i 5. In a machine of the character described, in combination, ditch digging means, an attachment to trail the digging means in the ditch, means within the attachment to support tile sections, means to move said support to push the tile sections into place in the ditch and for retaining the same in posi-` v the tile sections and to cover the same.

6. In amachine ot the character described, in combination, means for digging a ditch, a housing forming a movable curbing ttor the ditch connected to trail said digging means, and tile-placing means operably carried in said housing` adapted to place and positively retain the tile in position as they are placed.

7. .A tile placing attachment 'for excavating machines, .comprising a housing arranged for connection with the machine, a reciprocal tile support horizontally disposed within said housing, and means to rmove said support to place a tile section in position and return said support to tile receiving position.

8. A tile placing attachment for excavating machines, comprising a housing arranged `for connection with the machine, said housing having` an opening thrn which are pushed the tile sections, a chute attachable to said housing and having an extension shield, a reciprocal tile support within said housing, and means to move said. support to place a tile section in position and return said support to tile receiving position.

9. In a machine of the character described, in combination. means 'for digging a ditch, and means Jfor placing tile sections Ain abutting positions in said ditch and tor positively retaining the same in such position as they are placed. y l

1.0. In a machine of the character described, in combination, means for digging a ditch, and reciprocally arranged means for placing tile sections in abutting lpositions in 'said ditch and for holding the said sections in such position as they are placed.

11. In a machine of the character described, in combination, means for digging a ditch, means for placing tile sections in abutting positions in said ditch, and' means tor moving said placing means to position said tile and `for positively retaining the samein position as the machine is moved forward. l

12. In a machine ot the character described, in combination, means for digging a ditch, reciprocally arrangedmeans vfor placing tile sections in abutting positions in said ditch, means to move said' placing means inone direction to place tile and' 'for positively retaining the same in position as the machine is moved forward, and means to retract said' placing means.

13. In a machine of the character described, in combination, means for digging a ditch. means 'for supporting` tile sections by insertion of such means within the sections,

nace-,aci

and means forlpushing'the said tile sections into place in the ditch' and for retaining the same in place. Y'

14. In a machine of the character described, in combination, means for digging a ditch,'means for supporting tile sections, and means for pushing individual tile sections into place, each sectionl in abutting relation to a preceding section, and for positively retaining each section as it is placed..

and during a forward movement of themachine.

15. In a machine of the character described, in combination, ditch digging means, an attachment to trail the digging means in the ditch, means within the rattachment to support tile sections,- and means to move said support to place the tile sections in abutting relation and to positively retain the same so placed during the movement of the machine.

16. In a machine of the character described, in combination, means, an attachment to trafil the digging means in the ditch, means within the attachment to support tile sections, andimealns reciprocally arranged in said attachment for moving said support to place the tile sections in abutting relation and to positively retain the same so placed during the movement of the machine.

17. In a machine of the character described, in combination, means for digging a ditch, a housing forming a movable curbing for the ditch connected to Ytrail said digging means, and means within said housing for placing tile sections in abutting relation and for positively retaining the same so placed.

18.l In a machine of the character described` in combination, means for digging a ditch, a housing forming a movable curbing Jfor the ditch connected to trail said digging means, andmeans reciprocally arranged within said housing Jfor placing tile vsections i-n abutting relation and for positively retaining the Asame in position during the` movement of the machine.

19.` In va machine of the character described, in combination, ditch digging mea-ns, an attachment to trail the ldigging means in the ditch, the same having an opening Vthru which tile sections are pla-ced in abutting relation, means within said attachment to move each tile section in place and forv positively retaining the same in abutting relation as the machine is moved forward. .and a chute on" said attachment thru which gravel niay be .introducedI into the ditch to provide a bed for for said tile sections and to cover the same.

.ici-in sonnen.

ditch diggingl 

